Tranquil Darkness
by Imaginationstation196
Summary: When Natasha and Clint are sent off on a mission, neither agent expected their least favourite god to be behind the chaos. However, things take a quick turn down the narrow lane when Fury decides to recruit Loki and send him with the two assassins as their new under-cover partner.


**Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel except for this particular storyline and theme.**

Nick Fury surveyed his two best agents with a critical eye. Both were strong, agile, precise and deadly.

But even the best need a break sometimes.

He sighed and leaned back slightly against the rail and watched them go at each other in another session of Combat Training, not that they needed it.

A sudden sense of being watched prickled him. He turned his head slightly to see Maria Hill standing at the opposite rail, she too was watching the session with interest.

Fury stood up and walked up to stand beside Hill. The two stood like that for a few minutes before Maria addressed him.

"Coulson paid a visit yesterday." Her voice was tight and stiff as she said his name. Apparently, the death-hoax was still going to take some time to get used to.

Fury nodded. "I hope he's doing well?"

At this question, Maria couldn't help the snort that escaped her. "He's doing fine, or as close as it gets to fine for a once dead person."

"We needed to do that." Fury said, referring to Coulson's supposed death.

Maria kept her steady gaze on the two agents as she spoke, "I understand, but hiding it from them isn't going to help."

"Steve knows-"

"Does Stark know? Does Bruce know? Do Nat and Clint know?" Maria retorted.

Fury rolled his good eye. "We've kept it from them for a good reason. Stark and Banner have enough issues to deal with; giving them news that a man they thought dead, is alive, isn't going to help either."

"What about them?" Maria gestured below.

Fury exhaled and placed a hand on the assistant-directors' shoulder.

"All in good time Agent Hill, all in good time." And then he left.

* * *

"Admit it Nat, you're growing old." Clint said playfully as he dodged another kick from the red-head with ease.

The two had returned from another mission and were battling out their frustration in a light spar.

Natasha growled as she punched his shoulder before giving him a roundhouse kick. Clint groaned as he rubbed his shoulder.

She smirked as he glared at her. "Oh come on, don't be such a sore loser."

Clint snorted, "Sore loser? Are you going all fancy-pants on me Nat?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, "I've always been better at language than you Clint" she said lightly, "No surprise there." She added as an afterthought.

Clint seated himself cross-legged on the floor as he took a swig from his water bottle. Nat walked across the spacious gym and grabbed a towel, fluffing her hair as she joined Clint.

"I've missed this." Clint murmured as he leant his head against the wall.

Natasha frowned. "Missed what?"

"Our sparring sessions," he responded.

She chuckled and set the towel aside. "This is hardly sparring Clint. Besides, I like it out in the field where I can really do what I'm supposed to. I don't have to hold back."

Clint opened one eye to stare at her. "Why is that?"

Natasha shrugged, "I believe it's a part of me to want to test and push my limits. I am, after all, The Black Widow, an infamous killing machine." She let out a bitter laugh at the last part.

Clint opened both eyes and sat up; he pulled Natasha's hand into his own and gave it a light squeeze. "You're not a killing machine, Nat. You're just doing your job, trying to protect all those people out there and you're not alone."

Natasha smiled but it came out as more of a grimace. She stood up and picked the towel in one hand and held one out to Clint. He stared at her out-stretched hand with an offended look.

"My days of walking canes and ugly pinstripe suits are quite far, thank you." Clint muttered as he pushed himself up. He walked to the exit and held open the door.

"Ladies first." He gestured with an exaggerated bow.

Natasha chuckled. "I thought it was: 'men just before'?

Clint rolled his eyes. "That's just Tony. You know the rest of us, ever the gentlemen. Hey have you ever seen my Captain America impression?"

Natasha shook her head. "No, and I think it's best if it stays that way."

Clint grinned smugly, "Your warning fell on deaf ears." With that, Clint proceeded to drag an extremely exaggerated performance of his fellow comrade.

* * *

Fury walked down one of the many corridors at SHIELD HQ. Sometimes he wished he had allowed Tony to install Jarvis on the systems' hard-drives, but that meant Tony Stark had 24/7 access to SHIELD servers. And Nick Fury didn't want that.

He stopped right outside a glass door room and scanned his I.D card. An automated voice announced his name and authorization before the doors opened.

Fury stepped inside the dark room. It wasn't until now that he realized how long it had been since he had been here.

He sauntered over to a panel and flipped a few switches. Dull white lights lit up the room, illuminating the huge concrete desks that were strewn with papers.

But none of this concerned Fury, he was here for one thing. Behind one of the desks was a small drawer with the mark 'Caution: Danger' written in bright bold letters. He pulled the drawer and was met with the sight of dozens of small notebooks stacked neatly inside. Some were so old that they had been laminated twice to avoid damage.

Fury gently rummaged through them and pressed his hand to the back of the drawer, a low buzz sounded and the back compartment fell open. A large yellow manila folder lay at the back; he carefully stretched his hand and pulled it out.

The dull sound of footsteps approaching came and Fury hastily tucked the folder in his coat before closing the drawer and the lights before he headed out.

He immediately quickened his pace as the person neared.

"Uhh Sir? Agent Hill wants you to look through these reports." Agent Sharon "13" Carter jogged to keep up with his pace.

Fury slowed down a bit and plucked the files from her. "Where is Agent Hill?" He asked her, it was unlike Maria to send someone else to do her job.

"Sir, she went to help Agent Coulson, a distress call was received an hour ago." Agent 13 lowered her voice as she looked at him solemnly.

"Well I hope it's nothing serious, the last thing I need is my agents getting into another mess." Fury said with a hint of agitation in his voice.

"They're agents Sir, it comes with the territory." Agent 13 said grimly. She clasped both hands in front of her. "Agent Hill also wanted to speak to you about something regarding Agents Barton and Romanoff."

Fury frowned. This was most definitely unlike Maria. The distress call must've been something terribly important.

"Alright, I'll speak with her when she returns." Fury nodded briefly in her direction dismissing her presense.

"Oh and Agent Carter." He called after her retreating figure, she stopped and turned to face him with an expectant look.

"I want updates on Coulson's Team every hour and send Agents Barton and Romanoff to my office." He ordered and the agent gave a meek nod before hurrying down the hall.

* * *

**Now it would make me immensely happy if you could click on the review button and leave a comment. Constructive criticism is always welcome but no flames please. **


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